What is a “mystery shopper?” Despite the provocative name, it’s quite simply a hired individual posing as a customer to evaluate your restaurant. A spy – unknown to your staff – conducts an unbiased observation of staff performance, along with other key aspects of the dining experience. The objective is NOT to find reasons to punish your employees, but something that provides significant value: identification of...
Chipotle can’t seem to keep out of the news these days. Once again the chain closed one of its stores in Columbus, Ohio after the Delaware County health department received hundreds of calls reporting food poisoning attributed to meals purchased at the location. This incident occurred despite the new CEO who promised greater food safety surveillance to end the spate of outbreaks Chipotle has suffered over the last...
Food poisoning. No one wants to hear those words, let alone suffer through it, or witness a family member endure the ill effects. As we head into Labor Day weekend, don’t let warm weather negatively impact your food safety and put a damper on your outdoor activities.
With more than 50% of U.S. food dollars spent on meals prepared outside the home, safety inspections at restaurantshave become a core function of public health authorities to prevent the outbreak of foodborne illness. They’re also a topic of great interest to the consuming public.
Although the term “AI” usually reminds us of futuristic scenarios made popular by science fiction, the use of robotic function in food service surprisingly commenced more than a hundred years ago when vending machines first appeared in 1897. We’re now starting to see a significant acceleration in food service automation like never before. New technologies are transforming the way restaurants, food processors, and...
In Part 1 and Part 2 of our mini-series on the milestones of food safety, we covered food preservation methods from antiquity through the industrial age. In Part 3, we complete the series with a survey of the top 10 Federal Laws and Regulations having the greatest impact on food production and consumption since the 20th century. These legal developments have been critical to protecting consumers, as food safety...
